College Board Admits Another SAT Score Oversight

The College Board disclosed Tuesday that an additional 1,600 SAT scores have not been rechecked from an exam in October that had scoring problems.

The previously overlooked batch of answer sheets came from among those being scored separately for a variety of reasons, including security concerns. Some of those scores were on hold and had not been reported, but others may have been reported incorrectly, according to an e-mail sent to college admissions officers and guidance counselors early Tuesday. The statement also was posted on the College Board's Web site.

College Board spokeswoman Chiara Coletti said Tuesday she became aware of the latest problem late Monday. The sheets will be rescanned over the next few days and colleges and students notified of any changes as soon as possible.

She said she expected some, though perhaps a small number, of scores would be affected.

"To the best of my knowledge, there are no more surprises," she said.

The College Board, which owns the SAT college entrance exam, disclosed last week that scoring errors had been discovered on 4,000 out of 495,000 tests taken during the October sitting. All 495,000 tests, plus answer sheets from three other sittings, were rescanned.

College admissions offices said that the earlier disclosure came just in time, before final decisions were made, though some expressed concern erroneous scores may have affected the decisions of students on where to apply for college.

Though it is unknown how many — if any — scores will be changed from the latest group of 1,600, the latest revelation will likely intensify criticism that has already surfaced from many in the admissions and testing fields over the College Board's handling of the error.

"It raises further questions about whether we yet know the full scope of the problem," said Robert Schaeffer of the group FairTest, which opposes overuse of standardized testing and is calling for an independent investigation into the errors. "It's not a large percentage, but if they were your scores or your kid's scores, it could mean something very significant."

Some counselors and admissions professionals have also criticized the College Board's decision not to change the scores of students who received higher scores than they should have. The College Board said last week that the effect of those mistakes was "minute" but has since acknowledged about 600 students received higher scores that they deserved because of the scanning error.

"Needless to say, this is not the e-mail that I wanted to send to you, especially given the additional stress this may place upon you and some students, as well as the awkward situation we already face," College Board vice president of Higher Education Assessments Jim Montoya wrote in the message. "We are doing everything we can to resolve this issue as quickly as possible, and we truly regret the anxiety this has caused you and students."